THE ROSE THAT BLOOMED BRIGHT
by SilentSlumber
Summary: Set after the events of the film, Belle must now come to terms with her new romance with the Prince of France as well as her own personal struggle as a young woman in the public eye. How will Belle and Adam deal with the royal court of France, bringing Adam's childhood memories into view? And most of all, how will the world react to boy who became a beast?
1. THROUGH THE SMOKE

With the clearing of smoke and dust I came upon to him like an angel to a flame. We stood there momentarily, staring into one another's eyes as Cogsworth, Lumiere and Mrs. Potts skittered around in a frenzy over their transformation; they clothing looked similar to their colours as objects and they kept their flair. Lumiere who was now ever so slightly taller than me stood next to the stout, lump of a man that was Cogsworth, who giggled furiously at Lumiere's excited commentary of the event. Adjacent to them stood Mrs. Potts who smiled adoringly at the boys who soon included little chip into their conversation. I was too busy observing them all to notice The Beast's fixation on me; eyes wide with delight and adoration. My heart began to fluttery quickly as my eyes caught the gaze of his. A smile shaped his face moments later, filling my chest with a warmth I have never experienced before – I was happy to have him home, with me.

Lumiere cleared his throat abruptly,

"Master, it is rude for a Lady to not know your name" The Beast's expression turned blank as if all the words have left his brain.

"Ah, yes, er, my name is Adam. Prince Adam" His arm rose above his head to scratch his now long, honey-gold hair which fell to his shoulders in light, loose curls.

"Now that is funny, I've never heard of a Prince Adam" I replied sarcastically, teasing him.

He replied nervously, "The enchantment must have made everyone forget me -"

"Of course they would! That darn enchantress wanted The Master to never find happiness! – "Cogsworth said reassuringly.

"Yes, she must've but it doesn't matter now!" Lumiere bellowed loudly in happiness. "After all, we're human again!"

Cogsworth's expression turned flustered, his cheeks red and his movements scattered turned to Lumiere and Mrs. Potters and spoke with haste.

"We must get everyone together – all of the staff. We have to sort this castle out immediately! Think of the guests who will be arriving soon! We must have every tidied up and read for the days ahead!"

"We won't have anyone coming for a few days dear…" Mrs. Potts said comfortingly.

"Cogsworth is right! Everyone must be getting prepared! And quickly" He pestered Mrs. Potts with a slightly nudge to her shoulder to move away from Adam and I. The hint was hardly subtle to me, but to Adam, who was still staring at me like a love sick puppy, it was completely un registered. The trio, along with little pip behind them, left the balcony in a cheerful air that was a joy to behold. Meanwhile, Adam and I stood in an awkward atmosphere, unable to break the silence.

Eventually, his gaze left mine, following a different path around the exterior of his castle. He scanned everything with those large, royal blue eyes. I stood still, following his movements with my own.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

His head turned to me quickly, with a slightly confused smile he returned with an answer,

"Yes, my alright. Are you alright?" he replied quickly, making his way towards me in a confident manner which seemed much larger than when he was a beast. His hand reached out to me, brushing my jaw softly, his stare following the path that he had left with his slender fingers. They trailed up to the top of my ear, pushing my hair behind it to show my face to him.

"I remember when we first met. I stood in the light and you stood back in fear. I don't even want that again. Not ever" He continued to adjust the hair around me face, in attempt to not make eye contact but still keep close to me. Taking hold of his hand I brought it to my lips to kiss it softly. I didn't want him to think that way; not anymore.

"I was afraid because I didn't know what you were" I placed his palm flat to mine between us.

"But I know what you are now; you're mine. You're my Adam." I smiled lovingly up to him, with soft eyes and tears building up within them. Everything was so overwhelming and I hadn't let anyone in since the day of our meeting. I had always kept it locked up inside myself, only releasing it while reading. I was tired. So very tired of it.

I nestled my face into his neck, along with my hands and arms. The embrace of his arms cocooned me, they were warm and soft, and comforting. He was taller and stronger than me and therefor covered me entirely, yet I felt safe and secure in his embrace – I felt as if nothing could touch me. He would protect me no matter what. Even though he had lost much of height and most of his strength I could still feel it within him, that was something I knew he'd never lose. As our embrace ended I stood close to him, with my hands placed on his chest.

"I should tend to my Father – I'm sure he's worried about me"

"Yes, I'm sure he is. You can go. You're no longer my prisoner"

"No, but I'm still yours" I gleamed brightly, whisking myself away from the balcony, through the west wing and down into the main hall, passing corridors filled with the laughter and merriment of those servants that had been returned to their human form. This was all because of me and it was hard to believe. That something so momentous could've been caused by me. Yes, I'd hoped for something amazing to happen to me, but I'd never dreamed of this. As I finally reached the entrance hall of the castle I found the remnants of the battle that had taken place; a large clutter of random items that were never servants but had been brought to life by the curse and a few servants tidying up the mess that they had left behind. As I stood at the top of the stair well they looked to me with a sense of praise. In unison they bowed to me with a rain of applause to follow. Through the large round of applause, I found my Father's face in the crowd. His eyes were full of pride. His arms opened to me as I ran down the large staircase into his arms. We laughed together for a moment before the applause ended.

"Are you okay Father? This is a lot to comprehend, I know. I should've come to you sooner-"I apologised, trying to push my words from my mouth as clearly and as quickly as possible.

"No, Belle. You've done all you could. I'm proud of you. Think of it. My Belle, with a Prince – a Prince we'd all forgotten about"

"Yes, it is a little… bizarre, but we shouldn't ahead of ourselves Father"

"You love him don't you?"

"Yes, I do"

"Then follow your heart my girl"

I'd never seen my father so stubborn before and it was good to see. He'd lost his stubbornness over the last few years – mostly due to that horrible, mediocre town we had lived in for so long. It was lovely to see his ambition and intuitiveness back in him.

I gave my father one final hug before I left him to converse with the servants of whom were very keep to serve the father of their Master's love. All of this was much for me to comprehend so I began my route to the one place where I knew I'd feel secure – the library. I hoped it would have been left alone in the brief attack on the palace. The Library itself has been untouched, there were a few books that had been knocked off their shelves and there was slight water damage on the shelves nearest to the open windows, but over all there was little damage taken to the library itself. I was alone here. Here I could recollect my thoughts and my feelings before facing Adam again. In the last hour I'd see a man die (even though that man was entirely repulsive), I'd seen a beast be turned into a Prince, and I'd received my first kiss. I'd like to say that I'd enjoyed it all but the most prominent emotions that swirled within my brain were fear, anxiety, and love; for the fear was from the visions of the death that I had just witnessed, the anxiety was for what was to come, and the unrivalled love was for Adam. The more I thought about the kiss I'd just received the more my chest clenched and my thoughts stirred. I sat on a large, emerald green chair next to the classical book section of the library, near the large window that lead out to the castle gardens. I adjusted the chair so I could see out of the room without other's being able to look in. I did not want to be seen. I wanted to be alone for now, at least. Looking up to the clear sky I grabbed the clip of my coat and untied it, placing the cloak into my lap; gripping it tightly. My fingers brushed my lips softly, where Adam's lips had touched mine. Every time I thought of it my heart clenched more. I couldn't think of not kissing him again – the idea made me feel sick. But I couldn't just go and confess my love to him once more – there was more to it this time, for his was the heir of France.

What was going to happen now? I had already told him that he was mine, and therefore I was his but I wasn't sure as to what was going to happen next. I didn't know what I wanted. I just knew that the idea of losing him now pierced my heart like a sword. Yet, I wasn't ready for all that came with him. My memories of a Prince had returned. The last we knew of a Prince was that he was stubborn, malicious little boy with little regard for anyone else. That and that he was to inherit France. And if so, where would that leave me?


	2. A ROSE IN A GARDEN OF THORNS

I spent the entire morning reading. Many of the pages I read I reread just to appear as if I were reading something. I was completely dysfunctional that morning, with no drive to do anything what so ever. The last week had so many surprises that the idea of the next week being simple was completely unthought-of. I wasn't prepared for any more surprises so I kept to something I knew would bring me solace instead of shock. I had decided to re-read Romeo and Juliet again for the hundredths time as it brought me some comfort to be reading a book about a dysfunctional relationship between two people of separate backgrounds. Even if I had just learned that my mother was in fact a Lady of the court and was there for technically a duchess or something else Nobel. The only thing I could grasp was the fact that she married an ambitious inventor that loved her for her instead of her rank. My Father should have told me sooner, but instead kept it a secret leading me to have a very slight distrust for him, which was unlike me entirely. My entire world had been thrown upside down in a week, he could hardly blame me.

The only other matter on my mind was Adam. I hadn't spoken to him for at least a day and it made me feel worse for every hour that passed. He had just renounced his throne and reclaimed it in the matter of a day – on the premise that he married me. I was now betrothed to a man without an official proposal that I wasn't even sure that I wanted. Yes, I loved Adam but I wasn't ready for something so large, so quickly, with so much responsibility. I did my best to keep the ordeal of my brain for the sake of my own sanity. The soonest problem that needed to be sorted was the ball that was planned for dignitaries and officials planned for that night. The idea was that a load of rich and important people come together to discuss various topics and converse to make acquaintance. This was especially important as Adam was much older than he was a child and needed to make himself known as a respectable young man instead of a spoilt child. I also assume that half of them want to ask him directly about the curse and the effect it had on his ability to lead the country. And of course, they'd want to speak to me – the commoner that was especially fortunate to capture the interest of a Prince. Which, coincidentally, is related to the betrothal, which is something I'd rather not think about at all. Either way I looked at it, I couldn't escape the issue at hand and it bothered me. My only choice was to face each issue face on, one by one. The first being the ball that night.

I was expecting Jeannette to show at any moment. She had told me that she'd found a gorgeous dress for me to attend the ball in. Apparently, according to Cogsworth, it was to be red to stand out from the rest of the crowd entirely – not something I was hoping for whatsoever. The dress is said to make my natural beauty stand out and shine so the dignitaries find me suitable for Adam's hand in marriage. I never thought I'd have to deal with those conceited, narrow-minded, rich snobs but clearly I did. As they found it perfectly acceptable to judge a woman's worth on her dress rather than her brain. It may have been due to their lack in brain, but that is another matter entirely. Moments before I planned to put my book back in the library Jeannette came through the door with a long, slender case that was beautifully decorated with golden accents.

"Here's your dress – we'd better get you ready before they arrive" Jeannette said quickly, with a nervous disposition.

"Is there something wrong with it?" I asked completely uninterested.

"No, It's just that it has to be perfect for your debut"

"My debut? I'm not a show horse" I snapped, turning to look out of the window.

"No, but you're a prize all the same. You're a beauty and we have to show just how beautiful you are. How beautiful he sees you" she softened her tone as she spoke.

The atmosphere became tense between us, but it wasn't an aggressive tension – more of a nervous tension that we both shared.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just want to get tonight over with" I replied calmly before walking over to her, standing in the centre of the room read for my dressing.

"Just remember that you're confident, beautiful, smart, and completely perfect in every way. Without being self-centred or deserving. You want them to love you and you're confident and strong without you being conceited"

"That's a lot" I sighed.

"Or, you could just go and have a dance. He's been looking forward to it. It'll be the first time he's seen you in days. Quite a knock it's taken on him, you know" she pestered while taking off the dress I was wearing.

"I love dancing with him. I just can't look him in the eye right now. He knows what he wants I don't" I said with very little enthusiasm in my voice, accompanied with a large sigh of doubt. As I spoke I placed my feet into the bottom of the dress and into the dress frame. Jannette continued to slide the rest of the chest piece onto my torso before walking around to my back to tie the back of the corset.

"He loves you. That's all you need to know for now" she said tightening my chest and sliding the dress up onto it.

"Who wouldn't. You're beautiful" she noted before standing back to look at me in awe. "You're definitely beautiful, darling. In every way".

"Thank you, Jannette" I thanked her with the softest tone I could. She brought the mirror to me for a moment to look at the dress I was wearing. It was a deep red with large, puffed sleeves which hid golden fabric below them. It sat off the shoulder, with two golden roses attached near the connection of the sleeves to the breast piece. It followed down into a diamond shaped stitching in gold and a large red ballroom style skirt with gold under skirting – just as beautiful as the box, if not more so. Jannette smiled at me before removing the mirror from me, back to the corner of the room. She left me alone in the room shortly after. Leaving me with my own thoughts for a moment. I knew that the guests would arrive within minutes. I was to wait until they have come in and I was to walk in slowly, without announcement at the top of the grand stairway to make my entrance. I was to stand at the top of those stairs and make myself known – like a blooming rose in a sea of green weeds. Yet, I felt like the unwanted weed in the situation. I felt like I didn't belong at all. Jannette peered her head back around my room door to give me a subtle, yet noticeable nod that meant the all clear to make my way to the edge of the East Wing – where I would wait for my call to enter the introductory ball before the entirety of the guest unit is moved to the Ballroom. I knew the dress was beautiful, and to be completely honest, I felt beautiful in it. I felt gorgeous, in fact. I felt as if I resembled a princess – and that was what they wanted me to become. And then, a Queen.

My own thoughts were interrupted by a round of applause and the cheering of voices from within the hall and the deep, resonating voice of Adam followed,

"Good Evening, one and all. Welcome to my castle! I hope you enjoy the hospitality that the castle staff have brought you this evening – there's much to choose from; this includes various foods and drink. All completely free so go and drink as much as you like- "

I was amazed how natural he was with his speech. He must've had some training over the last few days that I had been completely oblivious about. He seemed so confident and comfortable with the situation – as if he were born into it. He addressed everyone there as if they were long lost friends of whom he'd spent hours conversing with prior to the event. He seemed natural up there – as a King should be in front of his subjects.

"Tonight, you shall all rejoice in my castle's hospitality as well as meet a person very close to my heart. I hope she shall affect yours as much as she has mine. But, anyway, let us drink!" he declared cheerfully before making his way down the stairs into the main hall to speak with two elderly people who I'd never seen before. I stood there quietly, behind a wall where no one could see me, waiting for someone to give me any sort of signal. Beside me stood Cogsworth who opened his mouth suddenly,

"Belle. You're beautiful, graceful, and elegant. You can do this".

"I hope so"

"You can- "he poked his head around the corner of the wall to see who was where within the room and to see if everyone had mingled enough for me to enter. "-You're ready to enter, my Lady.

I took a large, deep breath that I took deep within my breast before stepping out in to the room, without looking into the crowd directly. I could hear some of the room get quieter as I walked in, though the room was still too loud for my liking. I turned to look at them at the top of the stairwell before looking down to find Adam only two steps below me, one hand comfortably open for me to hold. He spoke softly,

"It's okay, Belle. I'm here" his voice comforted me. I suddenly felt calm and confident with the situation instead of afraid. We looked directly at one another as I placed my hand upon his – we nodded at one another in agreement before I slid my arm to link with his at the bottom of the staircase. We were to take this evening together. As we walked around the room we both nodded at various people who gave us nods and bows, half of whom I didn't recognise what so ever.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Pardon?"

"How are you? I haven't seen you in days. If it wasn't for Mrs. Potts, I would've thought you'd ran from me."

"I'm afraid of not being enough" even though we had not made any direct eye contact since the stairs he suddenly came to a holt and looked at me before replying.

"You're perfect, Belle. You're beyond it. Don't even think you're not. Please" he almost begged me to rethink my ways. At the end of his plea we head a voice shouting his name with a small laugh.

"Prince Adam! How nice to see you again!" the voice came from a tall, slender, sharp featured man with crisp blue eyes and deep brown hair. He was clearly an aristocrat of some sort as he wore clothes of high quality material in a bright brown – much like Adams but with significantly less flair. He kept his eyes on Adam before turning his gaze to me and speaking few words,

"You're this Belle. Beautiful. I'll give you that. But is that all you have"

I replied sharply, "I'll have you know that I have and do behave with the upmost propriety" my stare turned fierce and ever so slightly judging. I could hear Adam's ever so slight grin and outward sigh at the fact that I had almost outwitted a man of his stature – whoever he was.

"Well, there you go Peter. That's Belle for you. I wouldn't argue with her, I'll give you that" Adam wore a smirk on his face. Before Peter replied to him.

"So she's witty. Better than most women in this damn place. Might give us some competition" I refused to say anything in respect for Adam's reputation, who clearly found my comment amusing due to his ridiculous facial expression.

"Yes, she will" Adam laughed before introducing this "Peter" to me.

"Belle. This is Peter. My childhood "friend" and member of the royal council" he said with confidence. "I haven't spoken to him in years though, due to the curse and everything"

"If it were me I would've told her to buzz off as well, if I'm honest. Right on you, sir" Peter replied with a imperious tone. "Anyway, I must pop off and speak to some more boring dignitaries – bye!" he sauntered off with a superfluous grace that grated my nerves entirely.

"Please tell me that you hate him as much as I do" I stared at Adam with a stern look,

"I think he's repulsive" Adam replied with a smile that hung on his face, ready to drop into a stupidly large grin "But that was hilarious, please do it again. It might make tonight entertaining"

The expression on my face slowly, but surely, grew into a smile that matched his in size. He pulled me closer into him, and I latched on harder.

"Let's fine some tolerable people, shall we?" I asked cheerfully.

" _Good luck_ " he replied with a high level of sarcasm.

We spent the next few hours together, conversing with various people that clearly judged me for my upbringing. Yet, I felt comfortable and confident in my ability to speak to them – I let my whit and intelligence guide the conversations that night and it seemed to help momentously. That, and the copious quantities of alcohol that each person drank. Yet, the hospitality team at the castle seemed to have much more fun entertaining the guests than the guests had being entertained. Lumiere was clearly in his element, as was Mrs. Potts. Cogsworth just stood at the top of the staircase watching the event take place, as I expected him to. Yet, occasionally I felt the glance of those I trust to turn me with supportive eyes. It was quite the juxtaposition to the last time I felt the glare of my peers. It felt calming, almost soft.

 _Ding dong, ding dong_ , chimed the large clock following by the shout of Cogsworth from the top of the stairs;

"Ladies and Gentlemen, if you please come this way – "he cheered, gesturing towards the Ballroom for the courtly dance. The guests followed his actions like a flock of sheep to a shepherd's cane, bickering amongst themselves loudly while being herded towards the ballroom. The soft touch of a hand was felt upon my lower back, urging me to follow the crowd. Adam, with all of his new bout of confidence moved ahead of me towards the Ballroom.

Upon arrival I noticed a few changes; the chandelier was polished, as were the floors. The pillars seemed brighter than before – as if the stone was repainted or remodelled. It was as if the entire room has been completely switched out for another overnight, as it felt larger and on a much grander scale – Angelique must have been busy throughout the last few days working toward the event. She had made everything so beautiful, perfect for an event of this grandeur. The last piece of the puzzle was me. For me to stand out like a sore thumb – and be outstanding beautiful at the same time.

I stood alone at the edge of the Ballroom, contemplating my next move. I was unsure as to who to speak to, and it wasn't proper to speak directly to servants at an event. I was all alone. I looked around me for servants that I could call for a moment of discreet conversation without the prying eyes of guests but my search was in vain. All of those I'd grown near to where nowhere to be found and so I turned around to make my way for the Ballroom door and make my leave before hearing a deep, rumbling voice stand high over all the other's in the room.

"You promised me a dance" a subtle sense of sadness flowed through his voice, and it echoed through me like a wave.

"This isn't me, Adam" my voice cracked ever so slightly. I brought my arms into myself in reluctance to his comment. I kept myself close within without giving him any way to sway me toward the others. I had always stood out from others, but I had always been silently judged without care. My only care was my Father and my books. I had never felt this sort of pressure before and it _scared_ me. It scared me ever so much. My fear was dimmed by the warm of his touch upon my shoulder, and then the presence of his hand upon my waist.

"This is you. It's just you and me, like before. No one else is here. Just us" his voice was genuine, his stare was fixed and his hands were stuck firmly to me. Adam had kept his stubbornness even as a man. And I knew that if It came to it, he'd protect me against anything. And so, he moved me to the centre of the floor slowly, where other couples were dancing away – completely ignorant of others around them. We stood in the centre, parallel to one another, hand on hip, hand on shoulder, like we had done a week ago when we danced together alone. I closed my eyes to pretend that no one else was there – that it was just me and him, like it had been for the last six months. That the room was safe from prying sight, that when I opened my eyes I would only see him. And I did.

We began to sway, like we'd rehearsed everything a thousand times before. With each step my smile grew, as did his. Together we moved around the floor like swans on a lake, floating upon the floor as if it were water. For a moment I completely forgot the others around us. He raised his arms to make me spin and I followed his movements gracefully. Without a care we danced for what seemed like ages, relentlessly and whole heartedly we danced. Towards the end of the orchestral piece we stopped to bow to one another and to thank each other for the dance we had just participated in. Only moments later I realised what we had accomplished. The shocked and delighted faces of the guests turned to us in unison. Half of them showing a sense of enlightenment and the other a sense of confusion. I was unsure as to what to make of them.

Adam's arm slid around my waist quickly, pulling me closer to him before he raised his voice so each member could hear his announcement.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, your future Queen" he shouted with pride.

I turned my face to him quickly with one of the most disgruntled expressions I had ever thrown upon my face before. I was greeted with a loving smile and loving eyes; something I was not at all expecting. I couldn't fight it. I didn't want to fight it. It filled my heart with a sense of warmth and happiness that I truly needed in my heart. So I let it in.


End file.
